Online Buzz: Medical Skepticism Over Brain Games

This senior man plays "brain games" for an hour every day. Is he really getting a good mental workout?

Millions around the world rely on notepad scribbles, memos in smartphones and shopping checklists as tools to jog the memory. Since the early 2000s, the influx of computer-based brain games has promised people even more command of their mental acuity—improved memory skills, faster recall of childhood stories and even prevention of Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive decline. But are these brain games really working?

The Center on Longevity at Stanford University and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin queried more than 70 neuroscientists, cognitive psychologists and academics about their views on the plethora of brain games. The cognition experts from 40 institutions in six countries shared a year's worth of data and observations in a 2014 consensus report. Their findings? Brain-game manufacturers often overstate that their products are producing significant gains in memory and intelligence.

Read more about this study in the Right at Home blog, where you will always find the latest information about healthy aging and home care.

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